John Keegan, whose many books, including classic histories ofthe two world wars, have confirmed him as the premier miltaryhistorian of our time, here presents a masterly look at the valueand limitations of intelligence in the conduct of war. Intelligence gathering is an immensely complicated and vulnerableendeavor. And it often fails. Until the invention of the telegraphand radio, information often traveled no faster than a horse couldride, yet intelligence helped defeat Napoleon. In the twentiethcentury, photo analysts didn’t recognize Germany’s V-2 rockets forwhat they were; on the other hand, intelligence helped lead tovictory over the Japanese at Midway. In Intelligence inWar , John Keegan illustrates that only when paired withforce has military intelligence been an effective tool, as it mayone day be in besting al-Qaeda.

Rome’s famed historian illuminates the twilight of the oldRoman Republic from 157 to 43 BC in succinct accounts of thegreatest politicians and statesmen of the classical period.

Undeniably one of Rome's most important historians, Tacituswas also one of its most gifted. The Agricola is both aportrait of Julius Agricola-the most famous governor of RomanBritain and Tacitus's respected father-in-law-and the first knowndetailed portrayal of the British Isles. In the Germania ,Tacitus focuses on the warlike German tribes beyond the Rhine,often comparing the behavior of "barbarian" peoples favorably withthe decadence and corruption of Imperial Rome.

In Lone Star Nation , Pulitzer Prize finalist H. W.Brands demythologizes Texas’s journey to statehood and restores thegenuinely heroic spirit to a pivotal chapter in Americanhistory. From Stephen Austin, Texas’s reluctant founder, to the alcoholicSam Houston, who came to lead the Texas army in its hour of crisisand glory, to President Andrew Jackson, whose expansionistaspirations loomed large in the background, here is the story ofTexas and the outsize figures who shaped its turbulent history.Beginning with its early colonization in the 1820s and taking inthe shocking massacres of Texas loyalists at the Alamo and Goliad,its rough-and-tumble years as a land overrun by the Comanches, andits day of liberation as an upstart republic, Brands’ livelyhistory draws on contemporary accounts, diaries, and letters toanimate a diverse cast of characters whose adventures, exploits,and ambitions live on in the very fabric of our nation.

A "full-dress history of the war by one of our mostdistinguished military writers" (NEW YORK TIMES), WORLD WAR I takesus from the first shots in Sarajevo to the signing of the peacetreaty in Versailles and through every bunker, foxhole, andminefield in between. General S.L.A. Marshall drew on his uniquefirsthand experience as a soldier and a lifetime of militaryservice to pen this forthright, forward-thinking history of whatpeople once believed would be the last great war. Newly introducedby the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, David M. Kennedy, WORLDWAR I is a classic example of unflinching military history that iscertain to inform, enrich, and deepen our understanding of thisgreat cataclysm.

Indispensible biographies of major figures in Romanhistory. A mathematician and philosopher, Plutarch was also an acclaimedbiographer and historian. Bringing together nine biographies fromhis Parallel Lives series, Rome in Crisis examines the lives ofsome of the most important people in the roman empire- TiberiusGracchus, Gaius Gracchus, Sertorius, Lucullus, Younger Cato,Brutus, Antony, Galba, and Otho, a reckless young noble whoconsorted with the tyrannical, debauched emperor Nero beforebriefly becoming emperor himself. Each biography is preceded by aninsightful introduction by the distinguished historian ChristopherPelling. Taken together, these portraits provide a wonderfullycompelling picture of the ancient world.

The epic story of the collision between one of nature’ssmallest organisms and history’s mightiest empire During the golden age of the Roman Empire, Emperor Justinianreigned over a territory that stretched from Italy to North Africa.It was the zenith of his achievements and the last of them. In 542AD, the bubonic plague struck. In weeks, the glorious classicalworld of Justinian had been plunged into the medieval and modernEurope was born. At its height, five thousand people died every day inConstantinople. Cities were completely depopulated. It was thefirst pandemic the world had ever known and it left its indeliblemark: when the plague finally ended, more than 25 million peoplewere dead. Weaving together history, microbiology, ecology,jurisprudence, theology, and epidemiology, Justinian’s Flea is aunique and sweeping account of the little known event that changedthe course of a continent.

At the end of 1618, a blazing green star soared across thenight sky over the northern hemisphere. From the Philippines to theArctic, the comet became a sensation and a symbol, a warning ofdoom or a promise of salvation. Two years later, as the Pilgrimsprepared to sail across the Atlantic on board the Mayflower, theatmosphere remained charged with fear and expectation. Men andwomen readied themselves for war, pestilence, or divineretribution. Against this background, and amid deep economicdepression, the Pilgrims conceived their enterprise of exile. Within a decade, despite crisis and catastrophe, they built athriving settlement at New Plymouth, based on beaver fur, corn, andcattle. In doing so, they laid the foundations for Massachusetts,New England, and a new nation. Using a wealth of new evidence fromlandscape, archaeology, and hundreds of overlooked or neglecteddocuments, Nick Bunker gives a vivid and strikingly originalaccount of the Mayflower project and the first decade of thePlymouth Colon

During World War Two, 131 German cities and towns weretargeted by Allied bombs, a good number almost entirely flattened.Six hundred thousand German civilians died—a figure twice that ofall American war casualties. Seven and a half million Germans wereleft homeless. Given the astonishing scope of the devastation, W.G. Sebald asks, why does the subject occupy so little space inGermany’s cultural memory? On the Natural History of Destructionprobes deeply into this ominous silence.

With What's So Great About America , Dinesh D'Souza isnot asking a question, but making a statement. The former WhiteHouse policy analyst and bestselling author argues that in theaftermath of September 11, 2001, American ideals and patriotismshould not be things we shy away from. Instead he offers thegrounds for a solid, well-considered pride in the Western pillarsof "science, democracy and capitalism," while deconstructingarguments from both the political Left and political Right. As an"outsider" from India who has had amazing success in the UnitedStates, D'Souza defends not an idealized America, but America as itreally is, and measures America not against an utopian ideal, butagainst the rest of the world in a provocative, challenging, andpersonal book.

In Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Marine Corps’ ground campaignup the Tigris and Euphrates was notable for speed andaggressiveness unparalleled in military history. Little has beenwritten, however, of the air support that guaranteed the drive’ssuccess. Paving the way for the rush to Baghdad was “the hammerfrom above”–in the form of attack helicopters, jet fighters,transport, and other support aircraft. Now a former Marine fighterpilot shares the gripping never-before-told stories of the Marineswho helped bring to an end the regime of Saddam Hussein. As Jay Stout reveals, the air war had actually been in theplanning stages ever since the victory of Operation Desert Storm,twelve years earlier. But when Operation Iraqi Freedom officiallycommenced on March 20, 2003, the Marine Corps entered the fightwith an aviation arm at its smallest since before World War II.Still, with the motto “Speed Equals Success,” the separate air andground units acted as a team to get the job done. Drawing

Infinitely readable and absorbing, Bruce Catton's The CivilWar is one of the best-selling, most widely read general historiesof the war available in a single volume. Newly introduced by thecritically acclaimed Civil War historian James M. McPherson, TheCivil War vividly traces one of the most moving chapters inAmerican history, from the early division between the North and theSouth to the final surrender of Confederate troops. Catton'saccount of battles is carefully interwoven with details about thepolitical activities of the Union and Confederate armies anddiplomatic efforts overseas. This new edition of The Civil War is amust-have for anyone interested in the war that dividedAmerica.

In a journey across four continents, acclaimed science writerSteve Olson traces the origins of modern humans and the migrationsof our ancestors throughout the world over the past 150,000 years.Like Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel, Mapping Human Historyis a groundbreaking synthesis of science and history. Drawing on awide range of sources, including the latest genetic research,linguistic evidence, and archaeological findings, Olson reveals thesurprising unity among modern humans and "demonstrates just hownaive some of our ideas about our human ancestry have been"(Discover).Olson offers a genealogy of all humanity, explaining,for instance, why everyone can claim Julius Caesar and Confucius asforebears. Olson also provides startling new perspectives on theinvention of agriculture, the peopling of the Americas, the originsof language, the history of the Jews, and more. An engaging andlucid account, Mapping Human History will forever change how wethink about ourselves and our relations with others.

In 1940, as Hitler plotted to conquer Europe, only one nationposed a serious threat to the Third Reich's domination: France. TheGerman command was wary of taking on the most powerful armed forceon the continent. But three low-ranking generals-Eric von Manstein,Heinz Guderian, and Erwin Rommel-were about to change the face ofmodern warfare. By grouping tanks into juggernauts to slam through enemy lines,the blitzkrieg was born. With this aggressive, single-minded plan,the Nazis bypassed the supposedly impenetrable Maginot Line,charged into the heart of France, and alerted the world that thedeadly might of Germany could no longer be ignored.

“What is the scene or incident in European history that youwould like to have witnessed-and why?” In this companion to I Wish I'd Been There: Twenty HistoriansBring to Life the Dramatic Events that Changed America , some ofour finest historical writers now turn their attention to Europe,with lively and detailed accounts of some of the most dramaticevents in history. Guided by peerless scholars such as PaulKennedy, John Keegan, Ross King, Freeman Dyson, and KatherineDuncan-Jones, readers will be transported to the signing of MagnaCarta, the Versailles Conference, the German surrender in WWII onLuneburg Heath, and other key turning points in the drama ofEuropean history. These essays encompass two millenia and an entirecontinent, addressing issues of politics, law, religion, peace andwar, science and the arts, and social change, all telescoped intofinely observed narratives. The result is an historical pageant ofcharacters and episodes that will attract and delight all readersof history.